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DEPARTMENT   OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

OF  EDUCATId 


PROGRESS  OF  WESTERN  EDUCATION 


CHINA  AND  SIAM, 


DEPARTMENT  OF  THE  INTERIOR, 

BUREAU  OF  EDUCATION, 

Washington,  August  3,  1880. 

The  attention  of  school  officers  and  teachers  is  invited  to  the  following  interesting 
accounts  of  the  progress  of  western  ideas  and  educational  methods  in  China  and  Siam, 
forwarded  to  the  Department  of  State  by  the  United  Statts  minister  at  Peking  and 
the  United  States  consul  at  Bangkok,  respectively. 

JOHN  EATON, 

Commissioner. 


WASHINGTON: 

GOVERNMENT    PRINTING     OFFICE, 

1880. 


Librwy  of  Georgo  B 


/\> 


AV 


CORRESPONDENCE  RELATING  TO  WESTERN  EDUCA- 
TION IN  CHINA  AND  SIAM. 


I.  CHINA. 

Mr.  Evarts  to  Mr.  Schurz. 

DEPARTMENT  OK  STATE, 

Washington,  May  12,  1880. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith,  for  the  benefit  of  the  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion, copies  of  dispatches  Nos.  600  and  612  from  our  legation  at  Peking,  detailing  the 
progress  of  western  education  in  China. 

The  inclosure  with  No.  600,  being  printed  matter,  is  too  voluminous  for  copying,  but 
will  be  sent  for  perusal  if  desired. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  M.  EVARTS. 


Mr.  Seicard  to  Mr.  Evarts. 

No.  600.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Peking,  February  21,  1880. 

SIR:  There  has  lately  been  published  in  the  North  China  Daily  News,  at  Shanghai, 
a  statement,  from  the  pen  of  Mr.  John  Freyer,  of  work  done  in  the  u  translations 
department"  of  the  arsenal  at  Shanghai. 

This  so-called  arsenal  is  a  large  establishment,  in  which  vessels  of  war  are  built,  guns 
cast,  and  small  arms  made.  It  employs,  or  did  employ  a  few  years  ago,  on  the  occasion 
of  my  last  visit  to  it,  about  fifteen  hundred  hands.  These  were  all  Chinese,  with  the 
exception  of  some  half  dozen  superintendents  and  specialists.  It  had  grown  to  these 
dimensions  in  a  very  fe\v  years,  and  appeared  likely  to  receive  the  continued  support 
of  the  government. 

I  was  aware  that  a  scientific  school  and  a  department  of  translations  had  been  es- 
tablished in  connection  with  the  arsenal,  but  I  was  not  prepared  to  learn  that  so  much 
has  been  accomplished  by  the  latter  of  these  as  appears  from.  Mr.  Freyer's  report.  Of 
what  the  school  is  doing  I  am  not  informed  at  the  moment,  but  it  appears  that  a  very 
large  number  of  our  text  books  have  been  translated  into  Chinese  in  the  translations 
department,  and  that  the  Chinese  connected  with  it  have  shown  a  degree  of  zeal  which 
promises  much  for  the  future. 

While  referring  you  to  Mr.  Freyer's  very  interesting  paper  for  the  details  of  this 
work,  I  may  remark  that  the  education  of  the  Chinese  in  our  knowledge  is  going  for- 
ward in  many  ways.  You  are  familiar  with  the  facts  iu  regard  to  the  educational 
mission  in  the  United  States. 

About  one  hundred  and  twenty  young  Chinamen,  supported  and  paid  by  this  gov- 
ernment, are  now  in  various  .schools  and  colleges  in  our  country,  gaining  all  that  is 
available  in  the  way  of  knowledge  from  us  to  bring  it  into  use  here.  Perhaps  half  as 
many  more  are  studying  in  Europe.  Here  at  Peking,  the  university  presided  over  by 
Dr.  Martin  is  progressing  very  favorably.  There  is  a  school  at  Foochow  connected 
with  the  arsenal  there,  and  another  one  at  Canton. 

640 


4  WESTERN    EDUCATION    IN    CHINA    AND    SIAM. 

All  of  these  educational  enterprises  are  sustained  by  the  government.  Besides 
these,  however,  there  are  many  schools,  of  a  more  or  less  advanced  order,  in  charge  of 
and  supported  by  the  several  foreign  missionary  bodies,  where  other  branches  than 
those  directly  connected  with  the  moral  and  religious  purposes  of  the  missionaries  are 
taught.  Educational  work  is  fortunately  of  such  a  nature  that  its  results  are  felt  in  a 
constantly  increasing  measure.  It  has  been  progressive  everywhere  else,  and  there  is 
enough  in  Mr.  Freyer's  paper  alone  to  show  that  it  will  be  progressive  here.  The 
people  are  eager  to  avail  themselves  of  the  opportunities  offered  to  them,  and  the  gov- 
ernment appears  as  the  patron  of  western  knowledge. 

Under  such  circumstances  it  is  possible  to  take  a  hopeful  view  of  the  future  of  China, 
despite  all  her  conservatism. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  F.  SEWARD. 


Mr.  Seward  to  Mr.  Erarts.  ^ 

No.  612.]  LEGATION  or  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Peking,  February  29,  1880. 

SIR:  Recurring  to  my  dispatch  No.  600,  in  regard  to  the  work  done  in  the  " trans- 
lations department"  of  the  Shanghai  arsenal,  I  have  now  the  honor  to  hand  to  you  a 
leading  article  which  I  have  taken  from  the  Shanghai  Courier,  in  regard  to  foreign 
education  for  the  Chinese,  and  to  say  that  I  have  asked  our  several  consular  officers 
to  report  to  me  what  is  being  done  at  their  several  ports  in  the  direction  indicated. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  F.  SEWARD. 


[Extract  from  the  Shanghai  Courier  of  Friday,  January  30,  1880.] 
Foreign  education  for  the  Chinese. 

A  greater  knowledge  of  western  civilization  than  is  now  possessed  is  essential  to 
the  progress  of  the  Middle  Kingdom.  To  individual  Chinese,  foreign  education  is 
something  of  a  fortune,  and  is  the  surest  capital  with  which  they  can  be  invested. 
The  saying  that  "  knowledge  is  power  "is  well  borne  out  in  this  case,  for  foreign 
knowledge  is  almost  certain  to  obtain  for  a  Chinaman  a  lucrative  appointment  and  an 
improved  social  position.  Parents  are  now  realizing  this  fact,  and  many  of  the  well- 
to-do  Chinese  are  anxious  to  send  their  sons  to  Europe  or  America  to  be  educated.  The 
advantage  of  such  an  education  can  hardly  be  overestimated  in  the  case  of  those  who 
have  before  them  official  or  public  careers. 

At  the  same  time  there  are  considerable  drawbacks  to  going  abroad,  and  it  may  be 
questioned  whether,  in  many  instances,  equally  good  results  could  not  be  secured 
without  incurring  so  great  a  loss  of  time  and  expense  —  a  loss  so  considerable  as  to  pre- 
vent the  benefit  from  being  enjoyed  by  all  bttt  the  wealthy  or  those  supported  by  other 
than  the  family  funds.  For  of  course  the  sons  of  even  what  may  be  called  the  middle 
classes  cannot  afford  to  leave  their  country  in  order  to  be  educated,  and,  unless  they 
can  receive  foreign  instruction  in  China,  will  not  receive  it  at  all.  It  cannot  be  de- 
nied that  residence  abroad  possesses  some  advantages  which  cannot  be  obtained  in 
China  ;  yet,  except  in  rare  cases,  those  particular  advantages  are  not  the  most  needed. 

Why  should  not  useful  knowledge  be  imparted  to  the  Chinese  as  well  in  China  as  it 
can  be  in  Europe  or  America  ?  The  drawbacks  to  a  Chinaman's  residing  away  from 
his  home  for  the  time  needed  to  follow  a  regular  course  of  instruction  are  sometimes 
not  duly  considered.  The  Chinese  are  apt,  as  has  been  pointed  out,  to  be  "  too  much 
Europeanized."  Especially  are  they  likely  to  neglect  their  native  language,  and  so 
on  their  return  lessen  their  opportunities  of  usefulness  and  prospects  of  promotion. 
Particularly  is  this  so  with  a  large  class  who  hope  to  qualify  themselves  for  the  posi- 
tion of  professors.  A  teacher  must  not  only  be  acquainted  with  his  subject,  but  he 


WESTERN    EDUCATION    IN    CHINA    AND    SIAM.  5 

must  also  be  ab  ie  to  impart  his  knowledge  to  others ;  which  it  is  impossible  he  caii  do  if 
he  has  oul^  aii  imperfect  acquaintance  with  the  language  which  is  the  medium  of 
communication.  It  should  always  be  borne  in  mind  that  foreign  knowledge,  though 
exceedingly  useful,  is  not  all-important  to  a  Chinaman,  and  that  even  its  usefulness 
may  be  greatly  diminished  if  it  is  obtained  at  cost  of  the  neglect  of  his  mother  tongue. 
Looking,  therefore,  to  the  expense  of  being  educated  abroad,  and  to  its  serious  incon- 
veniences, especially  to  the  fact  that  it  must  ever  be  beyond  the  reach  of  all  but  the 
rich,  it  is  of  great  importance  to  consider  how  a  similar  education  can  be  had  in  China. 
It  would  be  very  incorrect  to  speak  of  the  local  polytechnic  as  a  failure,  but  it  is,  as 
yet,  a  long  way  from  having  realized  the  objects  of  its  promoters.  Its  educational 
facilities  are  great,  and  though  it  is  now  doing  good  and  useful  work,  we  trust  to  see 
it  become  something  very  different  to  what  it  is  at  the  present  moment.  There  are 
few  institutions  in  Hong  Kong  which  have  conferred  greater  benefits  on  the  Chinese 
than  the  Central  School ;  and  it  is  surprising  that  an  attempt  has  not  been  made  to 
establish  something  of  the  kind  at  Shanghai.  The  St.  John's  College  will,  it  is  hoped, 
contribute  towards  supplying  what  is  a  seriously  felt  want. 

At  this  institution  the  course  of  instruction  comprises  the  English  language  and 
literature,  geography,  history,  the  evidences  of  Christianity,  natural  science,  mathe- 
matics, natural  philosophy,  chemistry,  astronomy,  mental  and  moral  philosophy,  and 
international  law.  This  is  a  sufficiently  extended  curriculum  to  begin  with,  but  it  is 
intended  to  enlarge  it  if  the  project  be  successful.  Pupils  are  required  to  be  fifteen 
years  of  age  and  to  possess  some  knowledge  of  the  Chinese  classics.  We  believe  that, 
the  Hong  Kong  Central  School  owes  much  of  its  success  to  the  purely  secular  character 
of  its  teaching ;  and  many  who  take  great  interest  in  the  foreign  education  of  the 
Chinese  will  perhaps  note  with  regret  the  religious  element  of  St.  John's  College. 
But  the  two  institutions  are  of  a  different  character,  and  it  could  hardly  be  expected 
that  the  work  carried  on  at  St.  John's  should  be  purely  secular.  The  promoters  have, 
however,  met  possible  objections  in  a  spirit  which,  under  the  circumstances,  must,  we 
think,  be  considered  liberal.  They  wish  it  to  be  distinctly  understood  "that  St.  John's 
College  is  a  literary  and  scientific  school,  and  not  per  se  a  theological  institute."  A 
student  must  attend  the  daily  prayers  at  chapel  and  the  usual  Sunday  services,  but  in 
other  respects  he  is  free  to  devote  himself  to  the  secular  side  of  the  daily  routine  of 
class  work.  Many  people  would  have  been  glad  if  the  authorities  had  allowed  at- 
tendance at  prayers  and  Sunday  service  to  be  voluntary,  and  probably  the  chief  end 
in  view  might  have  been  better  reached  in  that  manner.  Yet,  though  the  requirement 
may  restrict  the  usefulness  of  the  institution,  preventing  it  being  generally  availed 
of,  we  are  pleased  to  call  attention  to  it  as  being  calculated  to  confer  great  advan- 
tages on  the  Chinese  youth,  and  to  offer  it  the  encouragement  of  publicity.  It  may 
be  well  to  note  that  the  charge  for  board  and  tuition  is  exceedingly  moderate. 


Mr.  Ray  to  Mr.  Sclnirs. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

Washington,  August  13,  1880. 

Sin :  I  have  the  honor  to  inclose  herein,  for  transmission  to  the  Bureau  of  Educa- 
tion, a  copy  of  a  recent  dispatch  from  the  late  minister  to  ChinSa,  Mr.  Geo.  F.  Seward, 
covering  the  replies  which  he  has  received  from  the  United  States  consular  officers  in 
that  empire  as  to  the  efforts  which  are  being  made  for  the  education  of  the  Chinese 
in  foreign  branches  of  knowledge,  either  by  the  government  of  China,  by  private  en- 
terprise, or  by  missionary  efforts. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  your  obedient  servant, 

JOHN  HAY, 

Acting  Secretary. 


6  WESTERN    EDUCATION    IN    CHINA   AND    SIAM. 

Mr.  Seward  to  Mr.  Evarts. 

No.  705.]  LEGATION  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES, 

Peking,  June  11,  1880. 

SIR:  I  have  the  honor  to  hand  to  you  herewith  copies  of  the  answers  which  have 
"been  received  from  our  consular  officers  in  this  empire  to  the  inquiry  made  in  a  cir- 
cular addressed  to  them  as  to  efforts  being  made  to  educate  the  Chinese  in  foreign 
branches  of  knowledge,  either  by  the  government  of  China,  by  private  enterprise,  or 
by  missionary  effort.  The  circular  referred  to  was  forwarded  to  the  Department  with 
my  dispatch  No.  600. 

While  these  reports  are  not  as  full  as  I  could  have  wished,  they  still  furnish  an 
outline  of  the  work  which  is  being  done,  and  may  be  of  interest  to  the  Department. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

GEORGE  F.  SEWARD. 


Mr.  Goldfiborouyli  to  Mr.  Seward. 
No.  107.  ]  AMOY,  April  23,  1880. 

SIR  :  In  response  to  your  dispatch  No.  86,  of  February  27,  1880,  I  beg  to  state  that 
there  are  two  private  English  schools  at  this  port  for  the  education  of  Chinese,  con- 
ducted by  native  born  Chinese,  who  possess  a  fair  knowledge  of  the  English  lan- 
'guage,  but  there  is  no  institution  of  the  kind  founded  or  supported  by  the  govern- 
ment. 

The  missionaries  have  several  schools  of  their  own  for  the  tuition  of  Chinese  boys 
and  girls  in  the  Chinese  language. 
I  have  the  honor,  &c., 

W.  ELWELL  GOLDSBOROUGH. 


Mr.  Cheshire  to  Mr.  Seward. 
No.  55.  ]  FOOCHOW,  March  29,  1880. 

SIR  :  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  dispatch  No.  78,  calling  upon  me  to  fur- 
nish you  with  such  information  as  may  be  available  to  me  in  regard  to  the  education 
of  Chinese  in  foreign  languages  within  this  consular  district,  whether  in  schools 
founded  and  supported  by  the  Chinese  government,  or  by  private  enterprise,  or  by 
missionaries,  as  far  as  the  secular  branches  are  concerned,  and  also  to  report  upon  the 
schools  established  at  Hong  Kong  by  the  colonial  government. 

I  now  beg  to  submit  the  following  report : 

The  Tung  wen  Kwan  is  the  only  scholastic  institution  under  government  auspices 
for  teaching  foreign  knowledge  in  Canton.  It  was  established  by  order  of  the  Tsung 
li  Yam  en  about  sixteen  years  ago.  It  is  under  the  official  control  of  the  viceroy,  the 
haikwan  (superintendent  of  customs),  the  Tartar  general,  and  two  lieutenant  Tartar 
generals,  but  the  practical  control  is  left  almost  entirely  in  the  hands  of  the  Tartar 
general,  to  whom  it  affords  opportunities  of  patronage,  for  the  staff  is  large,  and  the 
members  thereof  not  only  benefit  by  the  salaries  they  receive  but  their  official  ap- 
pointment as  officers  of  the  college  (Tung  wen  Kwan)  forms  a  stepping-stone  to  pro- 
motion in  other  branches  of  the  public  service.  The  staff  consists  of  three  superin- 
tendents, (the  chief  of  whom  holds  rank  about  equivalent  to  that  of  a  major  general), 
three  Chinese  teachers,  a  foreign  teacher  with  a  Chinese  assistant,  two  Chinese  clerks, 
doorkeepers,  cooks,  and  ottier  servants.  The  number  of  students  is  fixed  at  thirty,  of 
whom  twenty  are  classed  as  students  proper  and  ten  as  supernumerary  students,  the 
latter  being  intended  to  fill  vacancies  as  they  occur  in  the  former ;  and  when,  from 
various  causes,  the  total  number  falls  to  twenty  or  twenty-five,  fresh  supernumera- 
ries are  added  to  make  up  the  number.  The  students  proper  receive  a  small  pay  of 


WESTERN   EDUCATION   IN    CHINA  AND    SIAM.  7 

three  taels  a  month,  but  the  supernumeraries  receive  nothing  except  a  free  breakfast 
every  clay. 

It  is  difficult  to  define  the  raison  d'etre  of  the  Tung  wen  Kwan  College ;  in  theory 
it  is  established  to  provide  the  Chinese  government  with  a  staff  of  interpreters  and 
persons  conversant  with  foreign  literature  and  foreign  habits  of  thought ;  but,  so  far 
as  can  be  judged  by  patent  facts,  the  patronage  above  referred  to  is  the  element  most 
appreciated,  and  it  may  be  well  to  notice  the  extent  to  which  the  theoretical  object 
has  been  carried  out,  and  how  far  the  Chinese  government  has  availed  itself  of  the 
material  for  the  production  of  which  something  like  eight  hundred  dollars  a  month 
has  been  expended  for  the  last  sixteen  years  in  the  maintenance  of  the  college. 

About  ten  years  ago  fourteen  students  were  drafted  from  Canton  to  the  Peking  col- 
lege. Of  these,  five  have  retired  from  various  causes,  si  x  are  still  attached  to  the  Peking 
College,  and  the  remaining  three  have  appointments  in  legations  abroad,  one  in  Wash- 
ington, one  in  London,  and  one  in  Japan.  Since  1870  not  one  student  has  been  drafted 
to  Peking ;  none  of  the  Canton  students  have  in  any  way  been  called  upon  to  ren- 
der service  to  their  government.  Most  of  them  have  received  an  honorary  literary 
degree  (Hsiii  Tsai)  equivalent  to  B.  A.,  and  three  or  four  of  them  are  nominally  inter- 
preters, for  which  they  receive  a  small  additional  pay.  Year  after  year  passes,  and 
boys  of  17  grow  up  to  be  men  of  27,  marry ^nd  become  fathers,  and  go  on  with  their 
foreign  studies  without  so  much  as  a  word  of  encouragement  from  their  own  authori- 
ties. Under  such  discouraging  circumstances  it  must  be  that  studying  is  often  done 
in  a  perfunctory  way ;  and  yet,  while  some  of  the  students  have,  as  I  understand,  a 
very  good  knowledge  of  English,  wanting  only  practice  outside  the  school  walls  to 
render  it  equal  to  that  of  any  Chinaman  who  has  not  had  the  advantage  of  living 
abroad,  they  constantly  witness  men  of  less  technical  knowledge  than  themselves, 
men  of  lower  stamp  altogether,  men  picked  up  here  and  there  without  any  proper 
steps  being  taken  to  ascertain  their  fitness,  called  upon  to  perform  the  very  duties  for 
the  performance  of  which  the  students  of  the  Tung  wen  Kwan  are  in  theory  specially 
educated. 

The  course  of  study,  I  am  informed,  consists  chiefly  of  the  English  language,  to- 
gether with  but  subordinate  to  which  there  are  geography,  arithmetic,  history,  alge- 
bra, mathematics,  and  astronomy.  A  very  small  proportion  of  the  students  have 
made  any  progress  in  algebra  or  mathematics,  few  are  even  fair  arithmeticians,  and 
much  that  they  are  called  upon  to  learn  of  geography,  history,  and  astronomy  is  soon 
forgotten.  This  arises  from  no  want  of  ability,  but  from  an  utter  want  of  encourage- 
ment on  the  part  of  the  Chinese  authorities  for  the  students  to  trouble  themselves 
with  such  studies.  Without  a  reasonable  knowledge  of  the  language  they  are  liable,  on 
the  motion  of  the  foreign  teacher,  to  be  dismissed  from  the  school,  and  in  the  acquisi- 
tion of  that  they  are  to  some  extent  buoyed  up  with  hope,  a  hope  that  sometimes  be- 
comes lamentably  faint,  that  the  language  will  ultimately  be  of  service  to  them;  but 
with  respect  to  the  other  branches,  I  am  given  to  understand,  no  person  in  authority, 
^xcept  the  foreign  teacher,  seems  to  know  or  care  whether  they  are  taught  or  not. 

The  students  consist  almost  entirely  of  Tartars  (includiDg  banneriuen).  Originally 
about  one-third  were  Chinese,  but  it  was  found  that,  after  learning  English  at  the  ex- 
pense of  government,  these  latter  generally  disappeared.  The  Tartars  are  much 
more  bound  to  the  government,  and  are  loyal,  both  from  training  and  self-interest. 
As  young  men,  they  are  far  more  noble  and  honorable  in  their  character  than  the  Chi- 
nese, lacking  in  a  great  measure  the  low  cunning  which  characterizes  the  latter,  espe- 
cially when  they  get  official  employment.  But  it  is  hard  to  say  how  far  their  natural 
nobility  and  honor  would  suffer  if  they  were  thrown  into  that  vortex  of  corruption 
and  dishonesty  which  pertains  to  official  life. 

I  am  informed  that  there  has,  for  the  past  year  or  two,  been  an  intention  to  add  a 
German  and  a  French  department  to  the  Canton  College,  and  that  extensive  premises 
have  been  erected  for  this  purpose,  but  some  difficulty  about  funds  seems  to  have 
caused  further  steps  to  be  postponed. 


8  WESTERN    EDUCATION    IN    CHINA   AND    SIAM. 

Private  schools. — There  are  no  private  schools  worthy  of  the  name  in  Canton  for 
teaching  foreign  languages.  Now  and  then  a  small  school  is  opened,  in  which  English 
is  professed  to  be  taught  by  a  man  whose  knowledge  of  that  language  is  too  limited 
to  fit  him  for  other  employment,  and  after  a  brief  struggle  these  schools  die  out,  one 
after  another.  There  is  no  doubt  that  the  advantages  offered  by  the  government 
schools  in  Hong  Kong  are  too  great  to  enable  private  schools  in  Canton  to  compete 
with  them. 

Missionary  schools. —  None  of  the  missionaries  in  Canton  teach  English  or  any  other 
foreign  language  to  their  Chinese  pupils  now,  nor  have  they  for  some  years.  They 
found  by  experience  that  it  was  very  difficult  to  teach  English  to  their  pupils  because 
of  their  inaptitude  to  learn  western  languages;  that  the  object  of  the  majority  who 
came  to  their  schools  (formerly)  to  learn  English  was  simply  to  get  a  sufficient  knowl- 
edge of  that  language  to  enable  them  to  get  some  lucrative  employment  with  foreign- 
ers, and  as  soon  as  they  had  acquired  a  little  smattering  of  English  they  disappeared 
and  passed  away  beyond  their  Christian  instruction. 

I  shall  endeavor  to  furnish  you  with  some  particulars  in  regard  to  the  schools  estab- 
lished at  Hong  Kong  by  the  colonial  government  shortly. 
I  have  the  honor,  &c., 

F.  D.  CHESHIRE. 


Mr.  Scruggs  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  21.  ]  CHINKIANG,  March  24, 1880. 

SIR  :  I  had  the  honor  to  receive  on  the  21st  instant  your  dispatch  No.  63,  of  the 
27th  February  last.  In  response  thereto  I  regret  to  say  there  is  not  a  school  of  any 
kind,  native  or  foreign,  public  or  private,  secular  or  religious,  within  this  district  in 
which  Chinese  are  educated  by  foreign  methods  or  in  foreign  knowledge.  The  mis- 
sionary schools  are  all  conducted  in  the  native  language,  and  their  curriculum,  con- 
fined to  purely  religious  and  sectarian  instruction.  A  few  young  men  among  the 
native  residents  of  this  port  take  lessons  in  the  English  language  from  a  native  inter- 
preter educated  at  Hong  Kong  but  now  employed  here  in  the  customs  service.  But 
they  seek  to  know  no  more  of  our  language  than  is  barely  necessary  to  aid  them  in 
business  transactions  with  foreigners,  and  what  they  do  thus  acquire  is  little  else 
than  the  barbarous  and  childish  dialect  known  as  "Pigem  English."  I  know  of  but 
one  exception,  and  that  is  the  case  of  General  Wong,  the  military  commander  here, 
an  educated  Chinaman,  who  is  ambitious  to  enter  the  diplomatic  service  of  his 
country. 

I  am,  sir,  &c., 

WILLIAM  L.  SCRUGGS. 


Mr.  De  Lano  to  Mr.  Seicard. 

• 
No.  164.  ]  FOOCHOW,  May  5,  1880. 

SIR  :  I  have  had  the  honor  to  receive  your  dispatch  No.  109,  askiug  me  for  such  in- 
formation as  may  be  available  to  me  in  regard  to  the  education  of  Chinese  in  foreign 
knowledge  in  this  consular  district. 

There  are  at  the  Foochow  arsenal  two  schools,  one  under  English  and  the  other 
under  French  management.  In  the  former  the  number  of  students  varies  between 
30  and  50,  and  the  studies  pursued  are  English,  arithmetic,  geometry,  geography, 
grammar,  trigonometry,  algebra,  and  navigation.  In  a  four  and  a  half  years'  course 
the  students  receive  from  the  government  a  monthly  stipend  of  $4. 

There  is  a  naval  and  a  mechanical  branch  of  the  same  school,  each  having  an  aver- 
age of  25  students  receiving  the  same  monthly  allowance  from  the  government,  which 
also  pays  a  very  liberal  salary  to  the  professors  in  charge. 


WESTERN    EDUCATION    IN    CHINA   AND    SIAM.  9 

The  school  under  Frencli  management  has  about  40  pupils,  in  four  divisions,  study- 
ing French,  arithmetic,  elements  of  algebra  and  geometry,  trigonometry,  analytic 
geometry  and  calculus,  mechanical  engineering,  transmission  of  power  and  friction. 
The  branches  of  this  school  are  a  school  of  design  and  school  of  apprentices,  the  pu- 
pils pursuing  many  of  the  studies  enumerated  above  and  receiving  the  same  stipend 
of  $4  a  month.  The  professor  is  also  very  liberally  paid. 

I  know  of  no  schools  founded  by  private  enterprise  in  which  foreign  studies  are 
pursued.  There  are'several  schools  for  both  males  and  females  conducted  by  foreign 
missionaries  in  which  other  than  secular  branches  of  study  are  pursued,  say,  the  ele- 
mentary branches,  such  as  geography,  mathematics,  astronomy,  &c.,  but  all  in  the 
Chinese  language. 

I  am  unable  at  present  to  state  the  number  of  pupils  usually  in  attendance  in  these 
latter  schools. 

I  have  the  honor  to  be,  <fcc., 

M.  M.  DE  LANO. 


Mr.  Shepard  to  Mr.  Seivard. 

No.  45.  ]  ~  HANKOW,  April  10,  1880. 

SIR  :  Referring  to  your  No.  85,  on  the  subject  of  educating  natives  in  foreign  sci- 
ences, I  have  to  report  that  I  cannot  learn  of  anything  done  in  my  district  of  any  mo- 
ment. At  sundry  times  some  foreigners  wanting  employment  have  opened  small 
schools  in  Hankow,  intending  to  teach  people  of  any  age  to  read  English.  The 
results  have  been  inconsiderable,  as  the  enterprise  has  in  all  cases  been  abandoned 
as  soon  as  more  lucrative  pursuits  have  been  available.  Besides  this,  I  know  of  no 
efforts  made  in  the  direction  of  your  inquiry  except  some  work  of  Dr.  A.  C.  Bumr,  of 
the  American  Episcopal  mission  at  Wu-Chang,  who,  before  he  left,  gave  some  instruc- 
tion to  a  few  converts  in  the  theory  and  practice  of  medicine.  In  his  view  his  results 
were  encouraging,  but  not  fully  developed. 

I  am  informed  also  that  Dr.  Manby,  now  located  here  in  charge  of  the  London  Mis- 
sion Hospital,  is  preparing  a  system  of  instruction,  and  intends  soon  to  put  it  in  opera- 
tion, for  the  systematic  training  of  native  pupils  in  the  principles  and  science  of  phys- 
iology, with  surgical  and  medical  training,  in  a  course  of  some  years'  duration  in 
connection  with  his  important  hospital  work.  Beyond  these  I  know  of  nothing  done 
in  the  line  of  your  investigation. 
I  am,  sir,  &c., 

ISAAC  F.  SHEPARD. 


Mr.  Bandinel  to  Mr.  Seicard. 

No.  42—625.]  NEW  CIIWANG,  March  30,  1880. 

SIR  :  In  response  to  your  excellency's  dispatch  No.  66,  I  have  the  honor  to  state  that, 
as  far  as  I  can  learn,  there  is  not  within  the  three  Mantchoorian  provinces  any  school 
founded  or  supported  by  native  official  or  private  enterprise  in  which  foreign  knowl- 
edge is  imparted  to  Chinese  students.  From  inquiries  among  the  missionaries  I  learn 
that  — 

The  Roman  Catholics  have  a  college  under  foreign  supervision,  wherein  26  pupils  are 
instructed  in  Latin,  philosophy,  theology,  and  the  elements  of  geography,  mathe- 
matics, &c.,  and  whence  4  pupils  have  been  ordained  as  priests. 

The  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission  has  a  boys'  school  under  the  supervision  of  a  clerical 
missionary,  wherein  20  scholars,  from  9  to  13  years  of  age,  are  instructed  in  geogra- 
phy, penmanship,  and  the  course  of  (4)  reading  books  used  in  the  government  schools 
at  Hong  Kong.  They  will  learn,  when  more  adva/iced,  arithmetic  and  other  subjects. 
There  is  also  the  nucleus  of  a  girls'  school,  only  two  pupils,  supervised  by  the  mission- 


10  WESTERN   EDUCATION   IN   CHINA   AND    SIAM. 

ary's  wife,  who  teaches  them  plain  sewing  in  addition  to  the  above  branches  of  knowl- 
edge. 

Mr.  Carson  also  contemplates  starting  a  day  school  in  the  heart  of  the  city,  in  con- 
nection with  the  above  mentioned  which  are  held  in  his  compound. 

The  medical  missionary  of  the  Irish  Presbyterian  Mission  has  in  his  own  compound  a 
boys'  school  with  15  scholars,  and  in  an  adjacent  building  a  girls'  school  with  9  schol- 
ars. Many  of  these  are  too  young  to  learn  much,  but  the  elder  ones  learn  geography 
(Wade's  book),  and  three  boys  and  three  girls  are  taught  to  read*and  write  English. 

The  Scotch  United  Presbyterians  have  a  mission  here,  but  apparently  neither  in  their 
boys'  school,  recently  discontinued,  nor  in  their  girls'  school,  which  numbers  14  schol- 
ars, has  any  foreign  secular  education  been,  except  indirectly,  imparted.     The  girls, 
however,  are  learning  foreign  needlework. 
I  have  the  honor,  &.c., 

J.  J.  F.  BANDINEL, 


MY  DEAR  MR.  BANDINEL  :  In  our  boys'  school,  which  we  have  now  discontinued,  our 
object  was  to  give  the  children  of  our  church  members  a  Chinese  classical  education, 
such  as  they  would  receive  in  a  first  class  native  school.  Our  principle  was  that  of  the 
grammar  schools  at  home.  Outside  of  the  regular  lessons,  there  was  daily  the  ' '  religious 
hour,"  or  morning  and  evening  class,  where  I  instructed  them  in  religious  truth.  I 
only  bound  myself  to  spend  one  hour  per  day  with  the  scholars,  and  therefore  never 
formally  laid  myself  out  to  train  them  in  foreign  knowledge.  But  I  have,  of  course, 
introduced  all  manner  of  subjects  in  my  illustrations,  making  it  a  point  incidentally 
to  introduce  whatever  knowledge  of  historical  and  scientific  subjects  I  myself  pos- 
sessed. The  school  room  has  always  been  well  supplied  with  books.  I  think  we  have 
had  almost  every  foreign  work  which  has  been  translated,  and  we  take  in  for  the  school, 
1st,  the  Globe  Magazine ;  2d,  the  Scientific  Magazine ;  3d,  the  Child's  Paper.  I  have 
several  times  had  teachers  who  took  a  great  interest  in  these  periodicals,  and  who  did 
what  they  could  to  make  the  subjects  intelligible  to  their  pupils.  We  still  continue 
a  nourishing  girls'  school.  We  also  teach  the  Chinese  classics  there,  and  with  great 
success  ;  though  the  classics  are,  as  it  were,  taught  incidentally,  and  scripture  his- 
tory, &c.,  forms  the  bulk  of  the  teaching.  The  girls  are  being  taught  foreign  needle- 
work, but  have  not  made  any  very  great  attainments.  But  in  most  cases  the  direct 
teaching  has  borne  mostly  on  Chinese  subjects,  and  we  have  trusted  to  the  personal 
influence  of  the  foreigners  to  communicate  foreign  knowledge. 
Yours,  sincerely, 

J.  MACINTYRE. 


MY  DEAR  MR.  BANDINEL  :  In  reply  to  your  letter  of  the  18th  instant,  I  beg  to  state 
that  the  secular  subjects  taught  in  the  school  are  geography,  penmanship,  and  the 
course  of  reading  books  taught  in  the  government  school  at  Hong  Kong. 

These  reading  books,  four  in  number,  in  a  graduated  series,  treat  of  a  great  variety 
of  subjects,  both  foreign  and  native.  As  soon  as  the  children  are  far  enough  advanced,, 
they  will  be  taught  arithmetic  and  other  subjects. 

The  school  is  a  free  boarding  school,  supported  by  the  mission,  and  our  object  is  to 
train  for  ourselves  a  staff  of  native  helpers. 
Believe  me.  &c., 

JAMES  CARSON. 


MY  DEAR  MR.  BANDINEL:  The  only  secular  instruction  given  in  my  school  is  in 
geography.     I  have  given  half  a  dozen  children,  three  girls  and  three  boys,  lessons  in 
English.     The  lessons  are  merely  in  reading  and  writing. 
This  is  all  I  have  to  say  in  reply  to  your  communication  of  the  llth  instant. 
I  am  yours,  very  truly. 

J.  M.  HUNTER. 


WESTERN   EDUCATION    IN    CHINA    AND    SIAM.  11 

[Translation.] 

MOST  ILLUSTRIOUS  SIR  :  I  make  a  brief  answer  to  your  excellency  concerning  the 
inquiry  of  the  most  noble  minister  in  charge  of  the  legation  for  the  consulate  of 
America  in  Peking. 

In  our  region,  Mantchooria — that  is,  in  the  three  provinces  of  Mukden,  Kirin,  and 
Saghalien — there  has  existed,  so  far  as  I  know,  no  school  or  institution  founded  by  the 
Chinese  government  or  established  by  private  citizens  in  which  pupils  may  study 
European  sciences  and  acquire  some  knowledge  of  the  arts  of  foreign  nations. 

As  regards  the  Catholic  mission,  which  has  been  intrusted  to  my  care,  we  have 
founded  one  college,  with  Drs.  Boyer  and  Hinard  as  rectors,  in  which  twenty-six 
pupils  study  Latin  language,  philosophy,  and  theology,  as  well  as  geography,  mathe- 
matics, &c.  Four  graduates  from  this  college  have  been  ordained  priests  already,  and 
are  offering  themselves  with  most  pleasing  readiness  for  the  service  of  preaching  and 
directing  the  Christians  of  the  region. 

Nor,  indeed,  am  I  able  to  give  your  excellency  any  information  upon  the  subject  of 
your  question  of  yesterday.     Meanwhile  I  pray  God  that  He  may  bestow  all  blessings 
upon  your  excellency,  whom  I  desire  to  make  certain  of  my  respect. 
Most  devotedly,  yours  in  Christ, 

C.  DUBRAIL, 
Hixliop  of  fiolina,  Vicar  Apostolic  of  Mantchooria. 


Mr.  Lord  to  Mr.  Seward. 

No.  119.]  NIXGPO,  April  20,  1880. 

SIR  :  I  am  sorry  that  I  have  not  been  able  to  reply  earlier  to  your  dispatch  No.  57, 
requesting  such  information  as  I  might  have  in  regard  to  the  education  of  Chinese  in 
foreign  knowledge  within  this  consular  district. 

Nothing,  I  believe,  has  been  done  in  this  respect  by  the  Chinese  government  or  by 
Chinese  officials  in  this  province,  either  to  found  or  sustain  schools  in  which  foreign 
knowledge  has  been  taught.  Nor  has  anything  worth  speaking  of  been  accomplished 
by  private  enterprise,  outside  of  missionaries.  There  was  a  small  attempt  made  here 
a  few  years  ago  to  get  up  an  English  school  for  natives,  but  it  came  to  nothing,  very 
likely  through  the  incapacity  of  the  person  who  undertook  it. 

Missionaries  from  the  beginning  of  their  work  here  have  had  schools  of  various 
kinds.  The  object  of  these  schools  has,  of  course,  been  religious.  Yet,  as  in  religious 
schools  at  home,  secular  knowledge  has  been  taught  in  them  to  some  extent. 

Missionaries  in  this  part  of  China  have  not,  as  a  general  thing,  encouraged  their 
pupils  to  learn  English,  but  they  have  tried  to  teach  them  history,  geography,  mathe- 
matics, philosophy,  astronomy,  physiology,  medicine,  &c.,  and  their  efforts  have,  no 
doubt,  been  attended  with  some  success.  The  number  thus  instructed  may  not  have 
been  very  large,  and  bearing  in  mind  the  great  difficulties  under  which  the  instruction 
must  have  been  given,  we  can  hardly  suppose  that  the  results  have  been  very  great ; 
still,  something  has  been  done.  A  beginning,  at  least,  has  been  made  in  the  work  of 
a  higher  and  better  education  among  this  people.  Though  aside  from  these  mission 
schools  there  have  been  in  this  place  no  organized  efforts  for  the  education  of  Chinese 
in  foreign  knowledge,  one  will  yet  often  meet  with  Chinese  who  have  acquired  more 
or  less  of  this  knowledge.  Some  of  these  have  been  taught  in  schools  elsewhere, 
cither  at  other  ports  or  in  foreign  countries,  and  others  have,  in  one  way  or  another, 
been  so  related  that  this  knowledge  has  in  various  degrees  come  to  them.  And  these 
instances  are  continually  increasing.  The  number  of  Chinese  who  speak  English,  and 
who  have  more  or  less  English  education,  is  less  here  than  at  some  of  the  other  ports. 
They  naturally  go  to  places  where  there  is  a  demand  for  these  qualifications.  There 
lias,  so  far,  been  very  little  demand  for  them  here. 

This  reminds  me  of  a  matter  to  which  I  have  long  leen  wishing  to  call  your  atten- 


12  WESTERN    EDUCATION    IN    CHINA   AND    SIAM. 

tion.     It  is  the  inconvenience  and  disadvantage  under  which  consular  officers  are 
placed  in  being  required  to  write  their  dispatches  in  Chinese  to  Chinese  officials.     I 
wish  to  say  something  on  this  subject,  but  perhaps  I  had  better  do  it  in  another  letter, 
and  when  I  have  more  leisure. 
I  have  the  honor,  &c., 

EDWARD  C.  LORD. 


II.   SIAM. 

Mr.  Erarts  to  Mr.  Schurz. 

DEPARTMENT  OF  STATE, 

Washington,  May  17,  1880. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  transmit  herewith,  for  the  information  of  your  Department, 
a  copy  of  dispatch  No.  150,  dated  March  18,  1880,  from  the  consul  at  Bangkok,  Siam, 
in  relation  to  the  system  of  education  lately  introduced  into  Siam. 
I  have  the  honor  to  be,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

WM.  M.  EVARTS. 


Mr.  Sickels  to  Mr.  Payson. 

No.  150.]  CONSULATE  OF  THE  UNITED  STATES  OF  AMERICA, 

Bangkok,  Siam,  March  18,  1880. 

SIR  :  I  have  the  honor  to  acknowledge  the  receipt  of  Department  dispatches  Nos.  57, 
58,  and  59,  dated  respectively  December  1  and  6, 1879,  and  January  6, 1880,  all  at  hand 
by  the  same  mail. 

In  regard  to  the  information  required  by  the  Department  of  the  Interior,  referred  to 
in  No.  57, 1  have  the  honor  to  inclose  a  private  letter  on  the  subject  from  Rev.  Dr.  Mc- 
Farland,  the  principal  of  the  King's  College  and  the  originator  and  founder  of  the  new 
system  of  education  lately  introduced  into  the  kingdom.  This  letter  contains  all  the 
information  procurable  on  the  subject.  Dr.  McFarland  was  for  many  years  in  charge 
of  the  American  Presbyterian  mission  schools  in  Petchaburi,  and  is  well  qualified  for 
the  position  to  which  he  has  been  transferred. 

Although  too  modest  to  claim  any  merit  for  himself  in  this  new  work,  I  am  satisfied 
from  my  own  observation  and  the  reports  of  the  committees  who  have  the  matter  in 
charge,  that  our  countryman's  success  in  the  conduct  of  this  new  school  has  been  fully 
up  to  the  expectations  formed,  has  met  with  His  Majesty's  approval  and  given  him  full 
satisfaction.  I  do  not,  however,  think  that  this  success,  or  indeed  any,  if  much  greater, 
will  induce  the  government  to  extend  the  area  of  operation  and  establish  at  present 
any  general  school  system  throughout  the  kingdom,  or  even  at  the  prominent  points. 

The  Siamese  are  vast  projectors  and  their  ideas  in  the  beginning  are  large,  but  their 
plans  taper  very  much  and  very  abruptly  as  the  charm  of  novelty  passes  away  and  de- 
mands on  the  purse  increase.  There  is,  besides,  a  strong  party  of  the  old  regime  who 
do  not  approve  of  education  in  any  form,  particularly  in  foreign  languages  and  studies, 
who  believe  implicitly  in  the  wisdom  of  their  ancestors,  and  obstinately  oppose  them- 
selves to  any  attempt  at  removing  the  ancient  landmarks  wherever  posted. 

The  party  of  progress,  " Young  Siam,"  appreciate  the  value  of  the  old  adage,  "The 
more  haste  the  less  speed,"  and  their  policy  is  to  move  slowly  and  gradually,  temporiz- 
ing rather  than  raising  bitter  issues,  abiding  their  time,  until  its  efflux  shall  have  re- 
moved the  more  acrid  and  influential  members  of  the  old  conservative  party  and  left 
the  field  clear  for  the  introduction  of  more  modern  and  more  enlightened  ideas. 

The  King  is  young ;  the  contemporaries  and  counsellors  of  his  father  are  old.  He 
has  all  the  advantage  on  his  side  and  can  afford  to  wait.  In  the  mean  time  the  influ- 
ence of  this  school  is  extending  itself  by  means  of  the  younger  branches  through  the 


WESTERN    EDUCATION    IN    CHINA    AND    SIAM.  13 

principal  families  of  tlie  kingdom,  and  can  scarcely  fail  to  produce  in  tlie  new  goo'd 
time  favorable  results. 

I  am,  sir,  your  obedient  servant, 

DAVID  B.  SICKELS, 

United  States  Consul. 


MY  DEAR  MR.  TORRY:  In  compliance  with  your  request,  I  will  now  give  you  some 
items  of  information  in  reference  to  the  educational  work  recently  commenced  in 
Siam.  So  far  as  I  know,  the  desire  for  the  education  of  Siamese  youth  originated  with 
His  Majesty  the  King. 

Being  in  Bangkok  in  November,  1877,  His  Excellency  Phya  Bhaskarawongse,  the 
King's  private  secretary,  sought  a  private  interview  with  me,  and  informed  me  that 
His  Majesty  desired  to  have  a  school  started  in  Bangkok,  and  asked  me  what  I  thought 
of  taking  charge  of  it.  I  asked  time  to  consider  the  subject.  His  excellency  then  re- 
quested me  to  write  out  a  plan  for  a  school.  In  a  few  months  after  this,  I  replied  favor- 
ably to  the  proposition  to  take  charge  of  a  school  and  also  presented  a  plan.  His  ex- 
cellency then  secured  for  me  an  audience  with  the  King,  at  which  time  His  Majesty 
informed  me  that  he  had  fully  determined  to  have  schools. 

About  a  year  after  this,  or  in  October,  1878^1  entered  into  an  engagement  in  an  article 
with  the  committee  appointed  by  the  King  to  take  charge  of  a  school  for  five  years. 
That  school  was  opened  in  Bangkok  on  the  1st  of  January,  1879,  with  50  scholars, 
mostly  sons  of  noblemen  and  a  few  princes.  These  50  scholars  were  selected  by  the 
committee,  placed  in  the  school  under  my  care  and  control,  and  they  are  taught  and 
boarded  at  government  expense.  Day  scholars  receive  their  tuition  and  books  free,  but 
are  required  to  pay  their  boarding.  Some  board  at  the  school ;  others  board  at  home. 
The  whole  number  in  attendance  during  the  first  year  was  104.  The  object  of  this 
school  was  to  furnish  an  education  in  the  English  and  Siamese  languages  to  as  many 
as  can  be  accommodated. 

The  King  has  not  afforded  educational  advantages  to  the  people  throughout  the 
country,  as  has  been  stated.  I  think  His  Majesty  wishes  to  open  other  schools,  but 
they  must  make  an  experiment  with  this  one  first  and  see  how  it  succeeds.  This  is 
the  only  government  school  in  the  country  where  English  is  taught. 

There  is  a  school  numbering  about  60  pupils  and  supported  by  the  King  where  the 
Siamese  language  only  is  taught. 

Besides  these  government  schools  there  are  several  private  schools,  besides  those 
managed  by  the  missionary  societies. 
Yours, 

L.  G.  McFARLAND. 


Library  of  George  B.  Me  Far-land 


/} 


^ 


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